Production printing systems generally comprise a high-speed printer used for volume printing (e.g., capable of printing 100 pages per minute or more). Production printing systems are typically continuous-form printers that print on paper or some other printable medium that is stored on large rolls. Automated Document Factories (ADF's) provide functionality that enhances the performance of production printing systems by providing functional modules that govern the printing process. For example, an ADF may functionally address: input/output constraints; data transformation; delivery preparation of documents; and control/reporting of the production printing system itself. Because of this enhanced functionality, ADF's are preferred for numerous high-volume printing applications including mass-mail printing and newspaper printing.
Typically, a host system produces print jobs to be processed by an ADF for printing. Each host generated print job is a data file that typically contains a plurality of documents to be printed. For example, an organization may generate a print job to print thousands of bills in a single print job. The documents of each print job are often intended for delivery by mail or private carrier. In this regard, the ADF may also provide functionality to control the printing system and other downstream devices (e.g., an inserter) to ensure that the bills are properly printed and mailed to the appropriate people.
The host system transfers the print jobs to the ADF and adds the print jobs to a print queue of the ADF. Once the print jobs of the print queue have printed, it may be desirable for multiple print jobs to be placed together into a shared pool of print jobs to improve efficiency. For example, once a pool of print jobs reaches a certain size, it may be beneficial to sort the documents of the print jobs according to specific sorting criteria. To illustrate, an ADF user may receive a discount on postal processing by pooling multiple print jobs together for later sorting based upon zip code. When the pool is sorted, a higher zip code density is generally achieved for pools of multiple print jobs because there are more documents to sort according to the zip code than in a single print job. Mass mailings with higher zip code densities are preferred by the postal service and therefore receive delivery discounts. Thus, by pooling multiple print jobs for sorting and delivery, costs can be reduced. Examples of sorting categories include “USPS Pre-sort,” and “Private Carrier Ground Freight.”
Errors may enter print jobs in an ADF from a variety of sources. For example, ADF's may receive print jobs from older “legacy” host systems with outdated printer control/formatting functionality. Thus, these systems may occasionally generate print jobs that have undesirable errors that are sent to the ADF. Additionally, it is not uncommon for simple proofreading errors in any given print job to be detected by a user after a print job has already been sent to the ADF or even immediately before the documents are inserted into an envelope. Such events that create a need for document review are often unpredictable. Because print errors may be detected at very late stages in the printing process, ADF users desire methods to selectively remove documents from pools of print jobs for review and management. Unfortunately, no functionality exists to flag print jobs for review once the ADF has received the print job.
Additionally, users of an ADF may desire to provide special post-processing treatment for specific print jobs. For example, billing statements for high-value customers may be inserted into decorative envelopes instead of plain envelopes. Because customer accounts are not differentiated in incoming print jobs, identifying specific documents of a print job for special handling is a problem when the print job has already been received by the ADF. If a print job is not properly flagged for special post-processing before it is sent to an ADF, it may be improperly treated by an inserter and then re-printed (i.e., after detection of the error), resulting in wasted time and resources.